News Headlines - 21 November 2012

▽The economy: Doing so-so | The Economist

Not all public spending is wasted. But it is striking that 15 years ago public spending as a proportion of GDP was at similar levels in France and Germany and much higher in Sweden, whereas now France’s public spending, at almost 57% of GDP, is more than five points above Sweden’s and almost ten points above Germany’s (see chart 2). It is not obvious that French citizens reap commensurate extra benefits. France has 90 civil servants for every 1,000 inhabitants (compared with just 50 in Germany), which adds up to a huge 22% of the workforce, far above the European average.

▽California town learns to live on less after falling off its own fiscal cliff | guardian.co.uk

The nation's fiscal cliff nightmare played out in miniature form in the mountain town of Mammoth Lakes. But four months on, residents there say they have settled into acceptance

▽Newcastle council forced to slash jobs and close libraries | The Guardian

Newcastle city council has announced plans to reduce its budget by cutting at least 1,300 jobs, closing libraries around the city and taking other cost-saving measures. The Labour-controlled authority, which is one of the largest employers in north-east England, placed much of the blame on a "grossly unfair" cut to its government grant and said that the move is designed to reduce its budget by ￡90m.

▽Vince Cable to announce 'earn or learn' scheme for school leavers | The Guardian

Coalition plans to make it more difficult for 18- to 21-year-olds to go straight on to benefits after school, and instead require them to work or study, are to be announced by the business secretary, Vince Cable.

▽BBC News - The Pope publishes final instalment of life of Jesus

The third and final instalment of Pope Benedict's biography of Jesus is published on Wednesday. One million copies of the book, Jesus of Nazereth: The Infancy Narratives, have been printed in eight languages.